Prelude - Ikari, Kayo, Satoshi

The series of rest stops and post stations along the entire Nakasendo trail were constructed to intersperse with the mountain towns and villages such that travellers making the journey from Heian to Yedo would be able to pace their journey according to the distance a traveller could cover within a day. The first stop was still considered within the outskirts of the former capital, and as such was simply two short rows of buildings, comprising a few food vendors, and two small shops of services, notably a wainwright and metalworker. The largest building was the inn, or more specifically a kinchinyado, which provided accommodation but not food and drink. Travellers would pay a fireplace fee in return for the night's shelter. The interior was essentially neatly laid out floorboards, separated by low partitions, with no rooms, and a central hearth in the middle lowered section.

Satoshi was first to notice that the most affluent merchant on the road, evidently the one with the largest train, a proper wagon, and two bodyguards, had chosen to bypass the inn completely, pressing ahead in search of better accommodation. Perhaps they knew a better place further on, but that seemed a risky proposition given that dusk was nearly upon them. The rest of the wayfarers seemed sensible enough to enter the inn, simply named Idawata, after the station itself.

Ikari had arrived just a short distance behind the three women. They seemed to stand out as atypical sightseers, for they were by no means plying a trade nor looking like tourists, and then clearly had the means to employ an escort. In the inn, they also came prepared with the most extensive spread of food, unlike most of the others who either carried simply wrapped rice dumplings or seemed to go without dinner. It seemed that they were not unfamiliar at all with the demands of this mountain route. In one of the corners, a small group of rougher-looking farmhands had produced a bottle of sake and some dice, clearly intending to pass their hours in the manner.

But it was Kayo who caught everyone's attention, not when she stepped in through the low door of the inn, but when she found herself a spot to soothe her tired legs near the fireplace. She had removed the dusty traveller's overcoat and hat, to reveal an exquisite outfit underneath, for she was still wearing the finery of her workplace. One of the women present let out a soft audible gasp at her attire.

Kayo's arrival was subtle, but her presence, once settled near the fire, was a revelation. As she removed her travel-worn cloak and hat, the finery of her former life was unveiled. A collective breath caught in the inn; her exquisite attire and beauty, a beacon of elegance against the backdrop of rustic simplicity, silenced the room. She bows elegantly toward those who have a reaction, and wave at the closest Nakai (female attendant).

"Sumimasen," Kayo requested with her voice soft but clear. "A bed for the night please."

Her gaze swept the room, and she spotted Ikari-san, a regular at the Kitsune no Ana (fox's den). Their eyes brushed, but with the practiced grace of a lady, she offered no overt recognition leaving the initiative to him, should he choose to acknowledge her.

'Oh shit' Ikari thinks to himself. 'did she see me? she doesn't seem like she saw me'
He takes a glance in her direction..
'Shit* she saw me, it looks like she didn't see me, which means she totally saw me'
'These Socialites can have you entranced in a conversation about the weather while your house is blown apart in a storm'

'She's alone.. I didn't take her for a killer.. Maybe poison, don't let her near your supplies'

'What if she's not here to kill me? If I run the syndicate will just send some tall dark & ugly to off me.
Wait why would they send her? I have no guards to charm, no counselor to bluff'

'Running is no good, I can't play dice with trees in the dark to survive.
Ignoring it is futile, if she didn't see me, she will'

Ikari accepts what fate has served, stands up out of his nook, and makes his presence obvious with a show of gowning to stretch his back.
Walking over to Kayo.

(In a whisper)
"You are the last person I could have ever imagined seeing here"
"I don't think you're here to kill me, because if you were, I doubt I'd have the chance to see you"

Kayo offered a graceful bow as the gamblers approached. "Good evening, Kageyama-san," she said, her voice smooth. "It has been some time." Her memory, sharp despite the countless faces she'd encountered at the gambling house, served her well. A flicker of unease crossed her eyes as he spoke of killing him, but her smile remained fixed, an unyielding mask. A quirk of her physiology, her facial muscles were locked in a perpetual, beautiful expression, a trait that often proved awkward in moments demanding neutrality.

"I trust my presence is agreeable. I assure you that I harbor no ill intent, these delicate hands are unfamiliar with violence."

As he turned towards the inn, Satoshi wondered if the rich merchant and his wagon train knew the danger of traveling in such times under full darkness. Maybe he had important business or maybe he was taking a foolish risk and his entire entourage would be food for the crows come the morrow.

Satoshi entered the inn and found a quiet corner of the floor to sit. He laid out his encoded observations before him to review as he unwrapped his meal of dried fish and pickled daikon.

He had noticed Ikari enter the inn and recalled an enjoyable night of gambling and drinking at the Kitsune no Ana while with the bakuto. But while Satoshi felt he had developed a good rapport with the man, he had been in disguise the whole time and so the friendship had been based on deception. The life of a shinobi did not include many actual friends.

He had not noticed when the woman had entered the inn, but as he saw her unveil her finery he couldn't help but think of a green pheasant, hiding in dense brush and then suddenly rising into the sky in a beautiful display of magnificent color.

Watching closely out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ikari rise and approach the graceful woman. Although he cannot hear what is whispers, he notices the tension between the two, his notes forgotten for the moment.

"Delicate Hands are often the Most familiar with the Worst violence, only it comes in the form of a Stamp Seal authorizing Written Orders demanding Blood!" Ikari snaps quick to anger

He shakes his head in frustration with himself.
Bows in Apology.
Looks around, embarrassed of his outburst.

"That was rude and uncalled for, my sincere apologies. I'm in a bit of freighted and paranoid state.
I was given approval to scheme a heist off a visiting lord, but was caught. I'm sure the syndicate will sooth things over with the blackmail they have on him, but I need to not been seen for a while. I saw you and assumed the worst"
Another few apologetic bows~

"Soo.. It's not my business, but why are you here? A place like this is far beneath your status, and without escort?"

She presented her pale palms, the skin smooth and unblemished. "These hands bear neither the calluses of training nor the marks of years spent in martial pursuits."

A deeper bow followed, her mind a whirlwind of unspoken thoughts. What would he say if he knew I was a noble lady of a clan? She mused, the irony of her current station not lost on her. Perhaps her family is gone entirely. She savored the freedom of her choices, a luxury she'd never knew before.

Kayo registered Ikari's questionable activities, but, as a lady of propriety, refrained from comment on matters outside her purview.

"As you say, my business is my own," she continued, her tone light, "but I would welcome your escort. Though, I must confess, I lack the funds to compensate you." She herself was uncertain of her destination, only knowing she needed to move further from the capital.

Ikari thinks to himself smooth hands can be terrifying. Callused hands harvest crops, cook meals, craft products.
The same ink brush that writes poems, can certify death warrants.

Stunned at the thought of escorting a socialite. It would make for a good disguise, as well as pleasant company.

"I'm heading to the temple, with the bad leg we'd travel at the same pace regardless of an agreement.
My own hands aren't worth paying coin for protection, but under the right circumstances can win quite a sum. Perhaps together we can offer eachother a form of protection. A lone traveler alerts suspicion, but a sibling pair, or father escorting his daughter is a common and forgetful story to observers."
As Ikari dances a playing card amongst his fingers.

"Then we are of one mind," she stated, her voice steady. "I intend to visit the temple and offer my prayers to the spirits." An impromptu plan, yet genuine; her fortune needed a shift, a new path revealed.

The prospect of cards ignited a familiar thrill within her, like a bee drawn to the scent of nectar. "Would you care for a game?" she asked, her eyes gleaming. Ikari knew better than to be fooled by her delicate appearance; she was a formidable dealer at the den, a master of the cards who had left many a drunken samurai penniless.

As he finishes his food, Satoshi notices Ikari and the elegant woman take out cards. Perhaps they were going to play koi-koi or some other game. Ready for a bit of distraction, he picks up his things and walks over to the pair.

As Satoshi approaches, Ikari and Kayo hear him muttering under his breath about Nojo castle and the eclipse. "Apologies for interrupting," he says with a deep bow of his head. "I recognized you from the Kitsune no Ana, Ikari-san. I played with you there a while back and when I saw the cards over here, I thought I would ask if I could join you and your lovely companion in a game to pass the time this evening." He smiles, being careful to keep his lips closed tightly over his rotten teeth.

The temple that Ikari and Kayo referred to was certainly the Omitake Temple, or more commonly the Satomiya Shrine at the base of the multi-tiered staircase leading up to Mount Omitake where the sacred temple sat. A small community had formed around Satomiya surrounding the activities of the faithful. It was a good place to disappear for a while, certainly suited to Ikari's intentions if he wanted to distance himself as far as possible for his chosen profession. And undoubtedly a meaningful one for Kayo as well if she desired to see a different way of life from the unhappy trials she had had to put up with recently.

It was interesting that the two individuals with the most similar floating world backgrounds immediately understood the mutual support that they could benefit from. The other patrons of the rest house were not of the same ilk: the landworkers were likely to disperse before the night was done, socialised and drunk, back to their own homes. A few more arrivals entered the kinchinyado even as Ikari and Kayo spoke, finding their own spot of shelter to settle in. That made the common room that much more cosy, but still by no means cramped.

The only person who kept to himself was Satoshi. With his guise as a weary peddlar, no one particularly felt the need to approach him for conversation, or to see his wares for he obviously did not have any. There was a time when he would travel both day and night, if an urgent mission required it, but in these dark times, that was unnecessary risk. His first stop would be the tiny village of Itsuno, another half day from here. It was the location of a dead drop he needed to check for messages first, then locate his contact thereafter. But as an afterthought, he approached Ikari and Kayo.

"Geiko, give us a tune!" The womenfolk whose attention had turned towards Kayo's beauty recognised her couture and what it meant. It was a polite request, borne of good intention to liven up the end-of-day mood in the inn. And immediately a few others seconded the request with an encouraging cheer.

To entertain a crowd for free in this forgotten gateway town, how far she had fallen. Her skills, honed in the refined arts, once commanded fortunes in the city even for a Maiko (Geisha in training), where lords clamored for the company of her kind. Yet, her demeanor remained unchanged, a serene smile etched upon her face. "Perhaps later," she said with a voice soft. "Allow me a moment to refresh, and join the travelers for a game of cards first." A genuine desire, yes, but also a calculated delay, a practiced art of making her talents more coveted.

"Do you have a name, traveler?" she inquired, her voice gentle, addressing Satoshi's. "You may call me Lady Kayo. Please, join our game." She extended the invitation, mindful of the need for propriety; being alone with a man would invite unwanted scrutiny.

The woman bowed to Kayo gratefully for considering her request as her companions clapped excitedly at the prospect of a city geisha honouring them with a performance. Even the rougher peasants looked surprised as their eyes lit up.

The night's proceedings settled into some normalcy as it appeared that the travellers who needed the services of the rest stop had all settled in comfortably, the comfort of the roaring hearth fire a pleasant warmth as the grey darkness of day turned into the inky blackness of night.

But the year of darkness under Nisshoku's endless shadow had taught the inhabitants of Kage no Shima to steel themselves, and expect the unexpected. Even in the din of the cordial chatter within, the patrons of the kinchinyado could hear the commotion outside: a cry of alarm, the sounding of the gong, quickened footsteps. Some moments later the door of the inn swung open, there stood at the doorway the night watchman with his lantern, a distressed demeanour on his face. "All well here?" The question was more an implacable statement than a question. Something bad had transpired, everyone could tell.

Having made Satoshi's acquaintance (not recognizing him from before) Ikari had just dealt us three hands of cards for a friendly game of Koi-Koi when the disruption stopped them.

Ikari getting up, gestures to Satoshi to come with. "Lets find out what this is all about"
If it was a fire they will need every hand available.

"A pleasure to meet you Lady Kayo," the disguised shinobi says as he bows his head and shoulders. "You can call me Taro." Satoshi sits eager to play.

He is about to suggest some sake or umeshu to drink with the game, but the disturbance interrupts the game before it even really starts. Satoshi suppresses his annoyance since he knows the behavior expected of him. He rises with Ikari, placing his cards down on the floor. "What's the matter, watchman?" he asks.

"Welcome in our little troupe, Taro-san," she said, her voice smooth as she began dealing the cards, her movements fluid and practiced. Though her demeanor remained undisturbed, her senses were keenly alert, attuned to every word the watchman spoke. Kayo, despite her outward calm, was not one to ignore the undercurrents of a situation, especially in the volatile atmosphere beyond the capital's walls.

The three of them, Ikari, Kayo and Satoshi, were more perceptive to see how the watchman scanned the room carefully to confirm for himself that nothing untoward was happening within the confines of the small inn. Ikari and Satoshi rose to their feet, alongside at least two of the farmhands. One member of their group had tried to make light of the situation by muttering something about some livestock stolen by some supposed "... yokai who turned out to be a clever beggar ..." but he was shushed by the rest of his companions. The rest of the mood was one of concern, but there was a steel to everyone reactions, even from the women travellers, for these were darker times and people were prepared for the worst.

The watchman considered Ikari's and Satoshi's offer with a slight polite nod, "An extra pair of ears and eyes could be helpful." He beckoned them to step outside with him, "I will ask the rest of you to stay put, or return to your homes, and keep to the main street."

Compared to the well-lit warmth of the interior, outside was in contrast near pitch black. With Nisshoku's endless shadow, even waxing moons were weak orbs of pallid gloom. The watchman walked towards a small bundle of straw that he must have laid out along the side of the narrow street a few steps away. As the light of the lantern more fully illuminated the bundle, those who accompanied the watchman outside could see the remains of a severed arm, torn off between shoulder and elbow, blood still congealing. The hand gripped tightly a jitte; everyone understood who would wield such a weapon.

"We fear the worst for Doshin Nira." A doshin was a constable, and the jitte, or hooked nightstick, was a symbol of his authority as police for a given district of jurisdiction. Nira would have been the constable in charge of this Idawata post station along Nakasendo. Night watchmen were typically the villagers who were rostered to assist him in keeping order. "Sawada has gone ahead to follow the trail while I am making the rounds to secure our village." In the distance they could make out a receding pinpoint of light coming from the other watchman's lantern.

Kayo's hands stilled, the cards momentarily forgotten as she offered the men the space to react, a gesture befitting a lady of her standing.

"AH! By the Spirits!" Ikair startled by the sight
"I Volunteered to fight a fire not a horde of Wolves"

"Damn! What kind of monster could tear a man's arm off like that?" Satoshi says, acting shocked even though he has seen his share of gore and death. "I'm not sure how we can help if the nightwatch is already involved."

"Nira is dead and Sawada will be soon I think," he mumbles inadvertently. Then he wipes his mouth with a hand and says more clearly "We could help keep an eye on the inn here."

"... Gone to follow the trail..? Is Sawada a bear of a man to fend off beasts of the night?
Nira here was just a snack"
Ikari lights his lantern
"Lets go try to call the fool back to safety. Running down a trail of blood into the black, what hubris.
If he gets out of sight, we'll turn back immediately"
Ikari moves forward calling to Sawada to come back.

"You weren't planning to depart without me, were you?" Kayo stated, her angelic smile unwavering. "Your honor binds you to my protection; therefore, I shall accompany you." She followed closely behind the two men, her persistent smile a mask for her true intent: to witness the unfolding events and gather more tales. Manipulation was a lifelong skill, and honor was a reliably predictable lever. A flicker of concern touched her mind regarding the creature that attacked the man, but the thought of being alone in the inn, vulnerable to less honorable intentions from the remaining travelers inside, quickly dispelled any hesitation.

Satoshi hesitates for a moment as Ikari walks after the receding light, but then he quickly moves to follow the gambler. "Buddha protect us so we don't get eaten by a yokai" he mutters.

Once again the watchman with them (whose name they had found out later was Toshin) gave a small nod of appreciation for the help the three of them offered. The rest of the patrons at the inn seemed to be more circumspect in dashing around in the night, although two of the farmers looked like they were ready to follow as well, "We can go back and get our gear if we need to do a search."

Toshin replied to Ikari comment about Sawada, "Not a fighting man by any means, a humble carpenter. The residents take turns to do our nightly patrol. Doshin Nira more recently spoke of some matter at Itsuno village, and the villagers there had asked for his assistance." At the mention of the village of Itsuno, Satoshi's ears perked up. The location was where he would find a clan dead drop, a spot where he could either leave messages or retrieve them. It was just further up the trail, but deeper into the forest where the treeline met the lower bank of the Kiso river that cut through the mountain range.

Ikari hailed after the other watchman, Sawada, and thankfully he could see the motion of Sawada's lantern ceasing to bob along. He assessment was totally astute, for even if Sawada was dutifully performing his urgent task, Ikari had the impression that these watchmen were not equipped or trained to handle what appeared to be likely to be a mortally dangerous threat. Toshin's next words confirmed as much, "It is too late to send word to the authorities to take over the investigations, we will send a messenger first thing tomorrow morning."

Ikari and Satoshi caught up with Sawada, "We found Doshin Nira's arm up there, where the ojizo shrine stands, and brought it back here. But there were no other signs of the doshin." The path he pointed to left the main road, curving into the woods behind the outpost station.

Kayo was a step behind, and while she tried not to pay too much attention to the grisly nature of the severed arm, something caught her attention that the others didn't notice. A small red tassel peeked out from under the sleeve of the arm, just out of sight.

Ikari needing Haste left Kayo to catch Sawada, but never left her sight.
His temper flaring again as he met the carpenter "Sawada we are going back Right Now!
Unless you plan to face All the Specters of the Black Alone, you are coming with us!
Doshin is Gone, but they (Pointing to the Village) They need you"
Ikari starts to jog back to Kayo as fast as his bad leg will allow

"Sawada-san, were you following the road to Itsuno village? Has something happened there? I had planned to make a stop there tomorrow." Satoshi said.

It was probably just a coincidence but he had been feeling very paranoid once he lost contact with his jounin. Although he was used to working autonomously, it was rare to be so completely cut off from the rest of the Koga.

Sawada looked relieved when Ikari and Satoshi of them caught up with him. He wore a determined expression on his face, showing him a tad younger than Toshin, and was probably braver than he gave himself credit for, sticking out to do his duty despite the inherent danger that Ikari so obviously assessed the situation to be. "Yes, this path leads to Itsuno, further up beyond where the ojizo statue marks the halfway point. " He held up the lantern as if to show the way, but its weak light illuminated only up to the treeline of the woods and not much further than that.

He looked reluctant, "We must find doshin Nira, it is surely not too late to help him?" Courage would only get Sawada so far though. If Ikari convinced him more assertively, the poor man would buckle. "Nira was responding to a request for help. Some days ago, the village experienced blood rain! Blood! I don't know the details, but Nira set off to see if anyone had been harmed."

Kayo leaned close to Ikari-san, her voice a low whisper. "A small red tassel... it's peeking from the sleeve of the severed arm. I couldn't bring myself to look closer."

Ikari carefully pulls back the sleeve of Doshin Nira's arm to show more of the tassel.

It appeared that the jitte wasn't the only thing that the hand was clutching tightly, locked in place. A golden thread was also clasped together, stained dark red by what had to be blood. The end of the tasselled thread was knotted with a metal mon, or family crest, whose appearance shocked Kayo. It was her family crest, but what was it doing here?

"Just a Trinket... a bookmark or charm. Odd thing to have up your sleeve."

Alarm flared in Kayo's widened eyes. With a swift she snatched the symbol from Ikari-san. Worry and agitation tightened her features, a stark contrast to her stubbornly fixed smile. Her mouth however, spoke with sudden urgency, "This arm... it's not from the Doshi. This belonged to an Ashikara clan member. We need to find his body, now." The unexpected discovery struck a personal chord, a sudden determination hardening Kayo's gaze. She had to know who this was.

Once it becomes clear that they will be searching for the rest of the body (now bodies), Satoshi shrugs and says "I am no fighter, so I will stay here and help defend the inn." Then he heads back toward the inn but quickly moves off into a nearby alley. He removes his cap and puts his zukin on, covering his head and face.

Then he heads back toward the others, intending to follow in the shadows and help fight off any surprises they find along the path or at the shrine.

"Where are you going? We have to help them!" Kayo exclaimed, her gaze fixed on the figure vanishing into the shadows. Taking a sharp breath, steeling her resolve. "We need to find the Doshin... and the clansman."

Vanishing in plain sight was a fundamental skill, a shinobi-iri based on various aruki, or footwork. It might seem as if Satoshi was simply retracing his steps towards the safety of the inn, but in the cover of the night it was all too easy for him to disappear off wherever he wanted to be.

Thinking that Satoshi had gone back to where Toshin was, that left Kayo and Ikari with Sawada, now with Kayo having a more personal stake in the matter. Ikari was out of the city, otherwise he might have tapped into his network to find out more. As it were, they were now confronted with a decision: follow the trail straightaway, or wait till the next day for the higher authorities to arrive? Satoshi was aleady ready to go, for he needed to get to Itsuno for his own purposes.

"Ok we have some strength in numbers now, lets go, but stay together"
(starts down the trail as a group)

Kayo follows behind Ikari-san, as quiet as she can.

Kayo could've sworn that Satoshi had returned to the inn, leaving just her with Ikari. The bakuto were nothing if not streetwise, it was their uncanny ability to know their way around people, and also around places. With Sawada leading the way, the three of them set down the route that would take them to the village, not knowing Satoshi was also some distance behind, very quickly disappearing into the bushes that framed the path that lead into the forest.

"We found Nira's arm here." It wasn't a long trek before reaching a waypoint, indicating that they had walked half the way towards Itsuno. On a rock at this small bend stood an ojizo, often found along roads and trails, protectors of travellers to keep them safe on their journey to enlightment.What was disturbing was the blood splatter at the base of the small shrine. Did it mean that the doshin had a scuffle here, or worse, was this the point where he was wounded, mortally even? It was likely Sawada would want to search the area, but it was also the case that Itsuno was Nira's ultimate destination, whether he was going towards or coming from the village.

We should press on to Itsuno, we're nearly there and it's the only lead we have

From the shadows surrounding the ojizo, Satoshi watches the others as they look down at the base of the shrine.

As they pause, he looks carefully around the area and listens for any sounds that might give away dangerous men or creatures lurking in the trees or brush.

"I'm not certain that was Nira's arm," Kayo corrected, her gaze steady. "It bore the crest of the Ashikara clan." The bloodied statue was a disturbing sight, an affront to the gods that felt like a dark omen. Though repulsed by the impurity of the blood, she felt a prickle of unease at leaving the desecrated statue. Nevertheless, she did. Her smile, unnervingly bright against the grim backdrop, widened as she pointed ahead. "Yes, let's press on to the town of Itsuno now."

Sawada appeared momentarily confused by Kayo's correction. "Was what we found not Nira's symbol of authority? Or would an Ashikara clansman possess such a jitte?" These were questions they could not yet answer as they stood at the statue that marked the waypoint. Ikari and Kayo found nothing that needed them to tarry, and urged Sawada onward with them towards the village. Leaving the statue and forging ahead, both of them felt the uneasy sense that the spirit of the Jizo-san had been tainted by the bloodshed. Did they imagine it, or did it seem as if a red mist began to emanate from the base of the totem, adding to the night fog?

Further back, in the dark, Satoshi looked around the nearby forest of stunted pine and yellowed birch which surrounded the path, but saw no evidence of a broken trail where some creature or person could've ambushed this particular spot to maim their unfortunate victim. Looking ahead as they prepared to continue their trek, he saw that the leaves of the trees ahead of them were darker, with a deeper reddish tint to them.

The path curved ahead, uphill, then gently sloped downwards to a gap in the valley, drawing them finally closer to Itsuno, which sat near the Kisu river, framed by the mountains. Even in the eternal twilight they could count the number of houses with two hands, from their vantage point, and only three of them appeared lit. The fog had now turned into a fine misty drizzle.

Behind them though, and now even Sawada could feel it, there seemed to be a faint presence, ever since they passed the shrine waypoint. Satoshi had seen nothing either even though he was some distance back. The presence simply felt like it was at their backs, rather than in front of them.

Kayo considered the alternative. "Yes," she concluded, a thoughtful frown briefly replacing her smile. "It's possible Nira was once a clan member who somehow found himself exiled here. Let's find him, if he still lives, and uncover his story."

A shiver traced down Sayo's spine, an instinctive warning. Unease prickled her skin as she scanned the shadows behind them, restless and alert.

Continuing down the path, looking back occasionally.

Satoshi wipes the lower edge of his zukin, quietly cursing the drizzle as it slowly soaked him. As the others reached the top of the slope and then began the descent into the valley toward Itsuno, he spots a large cypress tree and decides to hide. He presses against the wet wood of the trunk and peers around toward the presence, hoping to catch a glimpse of it as it passes. If it was a danger to the others or to the village, he needed to know what it was.

Satoshi, being still an approximate distance behind, found that the red mist was more substantial now, not merely as an atmospheric tint of the night fog. Undoubtedly triggered by their passing of the ojizo shrine when they took the sole path to Itsuno, it seemed to coalesce and ring the outskirts of the village, as if it were beginning to form a palpable barrier.

Satoshi now noticed the fringes of of zukin, not merely damp with the wetness from the drizzle. The hems were beginning to be soaked with something thicker, and he was familiar with what substance it was - blood. Looking ahead at where the other three had advanced, there was some doubt as to what would happen if he tried to push through the swirling mist to reach them. Would he be prevented from pushing onward, or would he be the only survivor outside of this potentially deadly blanket of fog?

Ikari and Kayo, with their focus set ahead of them, was less aware of the stifling atmosphere now enveloping the village they entered. Kayo could feel something wrong in her bones, and Ikari, was he cast his glance back, could not help but see how the fog around the village appeared to have thickened, and how it now had an unmistakeable red tinge, lightly obscured by the drizzle that descended on them. This was no natural phenomenon, the sense that they were now enclosed. Kayo in particular felt an even stronger flash of the same unease she felt when she stood in front of the shrine earlier, unease that came with a hint of sadness.

"I have not had the occasion to come to Itsuno myself." Sawada looked to the other two for direction as to what to do next, for there was a total lack of activity before them. Granted it was at night, but there were no people, nor sounds of livestock, just the muted murmur of the river bank and the light touch of the drizzle. Only those few houses, lit from within, indicated that there were still residents. "Koji Yatabe is the otona here." A shoya was reference to a village elder.

"Hell is consuming this world, we already lost a companion. Quick lets get to the Elder's house, and pray they are in a hospitable mood"

As his fingers come back slicked with blood rather than rain, Satoshi hesitates a moment but then decides that getting help from outside the village would be too late in coming. Being inside the fog was the best chance to help the others and his intuition told him that he should check the dead drop in the village as well. So, he takes off at a sprint, hoping to pass through the swirling mist before it thickened too much more.

"Perhaps we should walk around," Sayo suggested, her gaze darting nervously left, right, and behind, a sweet smile plastered on her face. "Let's get a feel for the town. Something is deeply wrong here, a palpable darkness. I can sense it, I always have a sixth sense for this kind of thing." Her smile remained fixed, an unsettling counterpoint to her restless eyes. As a lady of the court, her life had been shielded, her soft gaze unaccustomed to such brutal bloodshed. This was a horror she had never witnessed, but her intuition were uncommon, she can feels the danger all around them.

Ikari nods to the suggestion to look before we knock, and will approach the nearest house with stealth to peep in a window or door crack.

Ikari, Kayo
Sawada was unfamiliar with the village, so it was Ikari who noted which house was likely to belong to the elder, it was the only one with a low bamboo wall that fenced off a small compound, compared to the others which were simpler structures of wood without a compound. One house sat nearer to the river bank, next to which was a rack on which hung a fishing net. Another had a number of metal and wood implements stacked up neatly against an exterior wall, some sort of toolsmith no doubt.

Kayo stepped forward to enter one of the pitch-dark houses. She didn't need any intuition for her to surmise that something must be wrong, given that the front door was ajar, but needed Ikari's lantern to see if anyone was inside. The interior revealed the humble decor of a simple village home: low table, matted flooring, small row of shelves to one side. The familiar layout meant they knew where the bedroom would, off to the left, and the kitchen would be further at the back of the house.

There was no one home. The condition of the house showed that the place was abandoned as it stood. Home items were still left where they were, dishes on the table, the bedroll still left on the floor and not put away, a knocked over nightstand suggested the occupants might have left hurriedly.

Yet there was still a few residents living here? Judging by the three houses which were still lit, one of which was the largest one. That was the one Ikari sought to peek into.Satoshi
It would have been pointless to be caught out here with this strange phenomenon. Satoshi skipped ahead as quickly as he could, trusting in his trained lightfootedness, shunshin no jutsu, to get himself propelled forward. He would end up out of cover, reaching the village in the open, but at least he would bypass the seeming danger.

Nothing impeded his movement, insofar as the barrier was an insubstantial one, and he sped through to reach nearly the same spot Ikari, Kayo and Sawada stood when they entered the village. Then he noticed again the wetness on his clothing. The threads of the camouflaging attire he wore seemed to begin to disintegrate, and that would leave him without a disguise. More troublingly, he found that the red blood-like tincture of mist seemed to stain his skin permanently. Rub as he might, it didn't seem to come off.

Tired from the hike, and the bad leg cramping. Ikari is unaware how exhausted he really is.

It was the kind of thing that would catch Kayo's attention, a pair of hyoshigi, or wooden clappers, used in taiko performances or even sumo wrestling, struck together to create a cracking sound to signal action or punctuate rhythm. Perhaps the previous resident here was a musician of some sort.

Ikari picked a corner of a window to peek into, figuring that where there was light, there was bound to be someone within, unlike the abandoned house. The elder? From his angle he could see a man and a woman, dressed in homespun wear, sitting at a low table in the centre of their main room. They looked like they had just had their dinner, judging by their bowls. The scene was oddly disquieting, given the contrast between how ordinary they appeared to be, contrasted with the dark domestic emptiness of the other house they had checked out.

Satoshi wipes futilely at the red stains eating at his disguise and blotching his skin. "Maybe a good pumice scrub at a bathhouse will help," he mutters to himself without much hope. Beside the discoloration, he could feel the unclean taint clinging to his skin as well.

He looks back over his shoulder at the fog barrier before heading into the village. He plans to stop and check the dead drop and then try to rejoin the others.

(sneaks back to Kayo to describe what he saw)

Lost in the unsettling atmosphere, Kayo, with her unconscious inclination towards taking things, found the hyoshigi inexplicably dangling around her neck. Startled by Ikari-san's sudden reappearance, she jumped. "Psssss... don't creep up on me like that!" she hissed, a flash of irritation in her voice before she focused with a smile. "What did you see?"

He explains and the lady listen patiently. "Best not to alarm the locals and draw unnecessary attention. Let's quietly check the other houses first, see if anything seems amiss."

That the exterior of the village was deserted meant that their creeping around went entirely unnoticed. It was late into the night and the remaining residents were indoors. They counted seven homes, plus a shack by the river to which a small raft was tethered. Apart from what must be the elder's house, they managed to spy a younger man as the sole occupant of a smallish house, possibly a trapper or woodcutter of some sort again judging by the equipment that sat near the wall of his hut.

"We should introduce ourselves," Sawada frowned deeply as Ikari and Kayo looked like they were about to step into another house. What was natural instinct for bakuto, being aware of their surroundings and reverting to subterfuge, was obviously very wrong for the more honourable and dutiful watchman who risked his life to make the journey here. "It is inappropriate to search the houses."

The fact that there were only four of them wandering about outside meant that it was inevitable that the trio would notice Satoshi, even if the shinobi were totally stealthy, not if Satoshi needed to traverse the village path to get to his secret drop: the nook of an old cypress along the north side of the village that was buttressed by a row of stones as an embankment to prevent the soil from running down towards the river. The underside of one of the stones bore a Koga clan mark pointing to the nook. Inside was only one slip of folded paper, which meant it had been checked recently, and this slip would have been the reply to whomever was supposed to pick this up.

Satoshi frowns at the missive on the folded paper before refolding it and returning it to the nook. As he contemplates the message and how it might be related to the bloody fog barrier that had followed them from the ojizo, he overhears the voices of his companions from the inn somewhere in the small village.

He follows the voices toward the building where the two bakuto and the guardsman are. "Psst!" he calls out as he approaches. Realizing that he probably looks like a ghost with his blood stained skin, he slowly steps into the light from Ikari's lantern with his palms open wide. "I followed you from the inn. A tainted fog has enclosed the village." His face and voice are familiar but the blood red skin is new. "We are in danger," he mutters to himself.

While his current team comprised of agents operating independently, as befitted their current mission, Satoshi was aware of the identities of the others by given name. The signature te in Kanji would have been from Terada, another shinobi using this same drop. This meant that Terada must have also operated from roughly this same region. Did his sphere of duty also cover this village? Such a request would have been directed at their jounin, who had yet to see this note. Nor did their superior leave either Terada or Satoshi any new instructions in the drop.

Satoshi understood the term karakurenai to simply mean red, or more speciically a vivid vermillion imported from the Middle Kingdom. Perhaps someone more familiar with colours and dyes and such trade might know more. The reference to red was surely not a coincidence, although the colour of Satoshi's stains were not at all vivid, more a dull maroon, almost black in the night. He had no idea what the twins referred to.

"We aren't searching," Kayo corrected smoothly Sawada with a soft smile, the newly acquired hyoshigi swinging gently from her delicate neck. "Merely investigating." Before any retort could form, a figure emerged from the darkness, bloodied and clad in black. Had he been the source of the earlier carnage, she wondered with a chill creeping up her spine.

"Danger?" Kayo questioned, her voice laced with a sudden unease. "How... and why are you covered in blood? You haven't harmed anyone, have you?"

So we're trapped here. Sawada is right we need to tell someone and maybe gather the village before people get swallowed in the fog one by one.